


Trying not to love you

by RiTheBiGuy_RileyTMR



Series: Songs [7]
Category: The Good Doctor (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-14 01:34:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29163501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RiTheBiGuy_RileyTMR/pseuds/RiTheBiGuy_RileyTMR
Summary: A Melendaire story based off of the song Trying not to love you by Nicklback.
Relationships: Claire Browne/Neil Melendez
Series: Songs [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2123832
Comments: 6
Kudos: 19





	Trying not to love you

**Author's Note:**

> This song was suggested by Claudiapsmc! If you have any suggestions for other songs I could use then please leave a suggestion in the comments 😊

Claire was sat on her couch in her small apartment with a glass of wine in her hand. She would normally be out running with Neil but due to the favouritism complaint they had agreed to not go out as frequently, still seeing each other a couple of times a week instead of almost every day, but she couldn’t help but feel empty, sitting in her apartment alone when she was so used to Neil’s company. It was killing her, at first she just thought she was lonely so sometimes she would hang out with the other residents but soon it became clear that she just missed him. She was always at ease with him and their jokes, just like their surgical plans, bounced off each other effortlessly. So that was why she was sitting there, alone, with her glass of wine. 

She tried to play her guitar but it just reminded her of the time he was at hers, they had takeaway and when he noticed her guitar in the corner of the room he asked her to play something for him, she’d reluctantly agreed and as her fingers brushed over the strings and she sang along he’d watched her, taking in every word she sang and every chord she played, she was usually nervous singing in front of people but he was different, he made her feel comfortable. 

She knew that what she was feeling was more than just missing a close friend, she loved him, she knew she did, but she was trying her hardest not to. The harder she tried to control her feelings for her boss, her friend, the more she fell in love with him and it was tearing her apart to see him and not being able to have him as hers. Instead of sitting around wallowing in her self pity she decided she’d head to a bar, hoping being in a crowded place with more alcohol would help stop her mind from overthinking.

Neil sat on his couch, looking down at the glass of whiskey in his hand, it didn’t feel right. He was sat there when he should be with Claire, listening to her laughing at a terrible joke he’d made or hearing her talk about something she’s passionate about. It ached in his chest, to be away from her as much as they were now, he still saw her everyday at work but this week she’d been with Andrews while he had Shaun and Alex, it wasn’t the same though, she was so much more relaxed when they’d meet outside of work.

He stood up, trying to shake her from his thoughts, but as he did so he caught a glimpse of some of the photo frames he had sitting in a cabinet. There were a few photos there, the first was a photo of him and his sister, which was right at the front. Just behind that was a photo of him and the residents when they surprised him with a cake on his birthday, they were all wearing silly party hats and he smiled fondly at the memory. Next to that was a photo of him, Marcus and Audrey that was taken at an attendings Christmas party. Right at the back though was the photo that caught his eye, it was of him and Claire at Ryan and Angie’s prom at the hospital, they’d insisted that the two of them had a photo to remember the day. He picked up the picture and smiled to himself, she looked beautiful in her dress that night and he was so impressed with her for all that she’d done for their patient.

It was during that case when he’d realised that he was falling in love with her, it got to a point where she could say anything to him and he’d immediately side with her, so it was no surprise when they got the favouritism complaint. He knew Audrey was right, he did have a problem, but he couldn’t stop, she was addictive to him and the more he pulled away from her the more he longed for her. He wished he didn’t feel this way for a resident but love had a mysterious way of doing these things. 

He put the photo back in its place before grabbing his jacket, he decided he’d head to the bar, hoping the walk there and the copious amount of alcohol he planned to drink would be enough to get her out of his mind.

Claire sat at the bar with a fancy cocktail in her hand, her plan hadn’t worked, she couldn’t stop thinking about the night when she’d confronted him about overcompensating while trying to seem like he didn’t have favourites, she thought about how he’d come back that night and how happy she felt to have him as her friend again. 

She was lost in her thoughts when someone spoke behind her.

“Fancy seeing you here,” she turned and saw Neil standing there, he slid onto the chair next to her.

“Hey,” she greeted, he ordered a drink.

“I needed a drink tonight,” he said as he took a sip of the beer placed in front of him.

“Rough case or was it just putting up with Shaun and Park?” Claire asked. Neil chuckled at this.

“Neither,” he answered, “the case was simple and had good results and Shaun and Park were surprisingly okay.”

“So what’s the urgency for the drink then?” She asked curiously.

“I have something on my mind that doesn’t seem to want to leave me alone,” he stated.

“I know the feeling,” she said, sipping her cocktail, “do you want to talk about it?”

“Actually, yeah I do,” he turned so he was facing her and as he looked into her beautiful eyes he got nervous and his heart started racing, “I-er,” he stuttered before regaining his composure, “I’m in love with somebody,” he said and she looked shocked at his confession, “somebody I shouldn’t be in love with. She’s super smart, beautiful, funny, when I’m with her I’m at my happiest and when I’m not with her I can’t get her out of my head,” he stopped talking as Claire took in what he was saying. 

“Does this mystery woman have a name?” She asked, he couldn’t tell whether she’d worked out that he was on about her or not, her face wasn’t letting him know anything.

“You,” he said simply.

“You? That’s a strange name,” she replied causing Neil to chuckle. 

“Her name is Dr Claire Browne,” he said, “and I am completely in love with her, I tried to not love her but doing this only makes me love her more, I need her in my life because she makes me a better surgeon, a better person,” Claire smiled at him.

“This Claire Browne sounds like a very lucky lady,” she said, “and I’ve heard that she loves you too,” Neil grinned when he heard this, he leaned forward and gently kissed her. She moved one of her hands to the back of his neck, deepening the kiss and he lifted a hand up to her cheek. They kissed until they needed to stop for air, they leant there foreheads together and just smiled at each other, “I’m glad you stopped trying,” Claire whispered.

“Me too,” Neil said back softly.


End file.
